Friday, 30 April 2010

Back in 1985, the compilation album A Real Cool Time: Distorted Sounds From The North defined the sound of Sweden’s garage rock revival. Bands like The Nomads – whose song A Real Cool Time leant its name to the album – The Creeps, The Shoutless and Watermelon Men showed that Sweden was Europe’s garage-psych hot bed. This was recognised in 2005 when Rhino’s Children of Nuggets box set featured many of the Swedish bands.

Now, for the original album’s 25th anniversary, RPM International is pretty damn pleased to be issuing A Real Cool Time Revisited outside Sweden. It’s the definitive overview of the country’s garage rock phenomenon. Release date is 24 May.

Compiled by Swedish music maven Ulf Lindqvist, with liner notes by Sonic magazine’s L-P Anderson and an intro by me, A Real Cool Time Revisited is the perfect companion piece to Do The Pop, the history of Australian 80's garage punk and (of course) Children of Nuggets. This era-defining set is rounded off with pics of all the original covers of the tracks included.

Friday, 23 April 2010

Tuesday’s show at The Jazz Café demonstrated the gulf between Emilie Simon and our electro ladies. Doing it all herself, everything was seamlessly used for the songs – it’s about the songs.

Beyond material from The Big Machine, it was incredible to see older songs like “Fleur deSaison” and “Désért” performed at a grand piano. They were received reverently by the French contingent – the moment you suddenly release she’s part of the French national fabric.

Thursday, 8 April 2010

The next RPM International CD is pretty special: the first comp of Johnny Hallyday’s best ‘60s stuff to ever be issued outside France.

Some of this rips. He might have arrived 1960 as France's very-own Elvis, but Le Roi De France pulls its cuts from the era when Hallyday had left the rock ‘n’ roll template behind and was recording red-hot, driving pop. He’s helped by a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page on the scorching Psychedelic and A Tout Casser. Mod titans The Small Faces back him on three cuts. British session legend Big Jim Sullivan is heard here too. Otis Redding's band appear on Je Crois Qu’il Me Rend Fou. Hallyday knew how the pick the right musicians for his records.